On April 21, 2018, SCCLA Incoming President Shirley Wei, along with other community leaders, met with Senator Hirono of the State of Hawaii to discuss issues concerning APA communities and immigrants’ rights.

“The Asian Pacific American legal community has once again said that the President’s actions are discriminatory and unlawful,” said NAPABA President Pankit J. Doshi. “Lower courts from across of the country have repeatedly upheld injunctions on all three versions of the ban. NAPABA has argued in each of those cases that the ban violates key principles of our laws and harkens back to an era of invidious discrimination our country has rejected. Today, we again bring forward the consensus of the Asian Pacific American legal community urging the Supreme Court to uphold the Ninth Circuit’s ruling and reject discrimination under the color of law.”

The Trump Administration’s appeals in this case, State of Hawaii v. Trump, arises from the legal challenges to the third revised executive order, which was announced in September 2017 and set to take effect Oct. 18, 2017. On Oct. 17, 2017, Judge Derrick K. Watson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii granted the temporary restraining order. The Ninth Circuit upheld the injunction on Dec. 22, 2017. NAPABA filed amicus briefs http://www.napaba.org/?page=amicusbriefs in both courts.

NAPABA’s Supreme Court amicus brief describes decades of statutory exclusion of citizens of Asian and Pacific Island countries under early U.S. immigration law, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 — the first federal law to ban a group of people on the basis of their race. The Civil Rights Era marked a dramatic turning point that saw Congress dismantle nationality-based discrimination with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The brief explains that presidential discretion in the area of immigration and refugee admission, while broad, is limited by statute. NAPABA argues that President Trump’s revised order, with its anti-Muslim underpinnings, violates the unambiguous prohibition on discrimination established by Congress.

A related challenge exists in International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump. Judge Theodore K. Chuang of the U.S. District Court of Maryland enjoined the visa ban on Oct. 17, 2017. The Fourth Circuit upheld his ruling on Feb. 15, 2018. NAPABA filed amicus briefs http://www.napaba.org/?page=amicusbriefs in support of the injunction in both courts.

NAPABA opposed earlier iterations of the executive order, including submitting amicus briefs at the District, Circuit, and Supreme Court level.

NAPABA recognizes lead pro bono counsel, James W. Kim, a NAPABA member and partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, in Washington, D.C.; Mr. Kim’s team (including Cathy Zeman Scheineson, Matthew M. Girgenti, and Llewelyn M. Engel); NAPABA Amicus Committee co-chairs, Professor Radha Pathak of Whittier Law School and Albert Giang, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP in Los Angeles; and Meredith Higashi, NAPABA Civil Rights Committee co-chair for their leadership drafting the brief, as well as recognizes the NAPABA staff for their efforts.

The Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association (“LAIPLA”) announces its 2018 Diversity Fellowship application. The LAIPLA Diversity Fellowship is open to all law students Expected to graduate from law school in 2019 or 2020, have an interest in practicing intellectual property (“IP”) law in the Los Angeles area, and possess “potential to succeed” as an IP attorney. Completed applications must be received by 11:59 PDT, Sunday, March 25, 2018.

Cal-APABA will hold its first annual Lobby Day in Sacramento on March 13. We will meet with Assemblymembers, State Senators, and the Governor's office to advocate for the community. Be a voice for our community by registering here by February 9: calapaba.org. For any questions, contact Charles Jung at calapaba@njfirm.com.

The Ms. JD's 10th Annual Conference on Women in Law: Her Story will be held on Friday March 9, 2018 at UCLA School of Law. The full day conference is a culmination of Ms. JD’s national programming and brings together aspiring and early career lawyers from across the country. An overview of the conference and registration information is available here: https://ms-jd.org/annual-conference/2018-conference/

Student tickets and professional tickets are available at the link below. Attendees can either purchase a ticket for the full day conference, which includes the Ms. JD Honors Reception, or separately purchase a ticket just for the Ms. JD Honors Reception.

LACBA Names Officer and Trustee Philip H. Lam to Newly Established VP-Level Officer Position to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Association’s Leadership and the Legal Community at Large

LOS ANGELES – March 2, 2018 – The Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), one of the largest voluntary metropolitan bar associations in the country, announced today that Officer and Trustee Philip H. Lam will be appointed as the first-ever Vice President of Diversity/Affiliate Outreach to coordinate LACBA’s diversity and inclusive initiatives, as well as relationships with Affiliate Bars of LACBA.

In this new volunteer leadership position, Lam will work to increase diversity and inclusion of lawyers of various backgrounds in the Association’s membership, sections, committees, Board of Trustees, and Executive leadership; serve as the dedicated outreach officer for Affiliate Bar Affairs; and oversee LACBA’s new Leadership Training Academy, which will create a pipeline of leaders for the Association and the legal community.

“Having Phil lead our new initiative and step into this role demonstrates our commitment to a long-term focus on diversity and inclusion both in LACBA’s leadership and in the legal profession,” LACBA President Michael E. Meyer said. “It also represents a new emphasis on LACBA’s dedication to working with our Affiliate Bar partners to improve the legal profession and promote a more closely knitted legal community.”

“We are blessed with the open-mindedness, vision, and leadership of LACBA President Michael Meyer and President-elect Brian Kabateck in pivoting the bar toward greater diversity and inclusion. I am honored to be asked to take charge of this directional re-alignment,” Lam said. “This new focus will enhance LACBA’s relevancy to the rapidly expanding diverse population of lawyers, increase LACBA’s long-term viability, and position the County Bar to truly represent the legal community in the County of Los Angeles.”

“This is a new day for LACBA as we embrace and represent the changing demographics of the legal community in California and further strengthen our ties and mutual growth with our Affiliate Bar Associations,” said LACBA President-elect Brian S. Kabateck. “LACBA, its members, and the legal community are fortunate to have someone of Phil’s stature and dedication to diversity leading this new initiative.”

Lam has a long history of civic, pro bono, and bar services since 1998, nationally and locally. In L.A. County, he has served as a LACBA Trustee (2002-2004, 2007-2008) as well as its Senior Vice President and Vice President (2016 - present); President of the oldest Asian American bar association in California, the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association; Co-President of one of the oldest LGBT bars in the state, the LGBT Bar Association of L.A.; and a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board to the City Attorney Mike N. Feuer of Los Angeles; among other services.